The following events occurred in January 1961:
January 20, 1961: Kennedy inaugurated as 35th U.S. President
January 17, 1961: Outgoing U.S. President Eisenhower warns against the "military-industrial complex"
January 24, 1961: Nuclear bomb accidentally dropped on Goldsboro, NC
January 1, 1961: British farthing, worth 1⁄4 a penny, discontinued after 600 years
The following events occurred in February 1961:
February 1, 1961: U.S. launches first Minuteman ICBM
February 1, 1961: Touch-tone phone tested by Bell
February 21, 1961: Launch of Mercury-Atlas 2
Mercury spacecraft impact attenuation